Golf club



' H. M. RHIND.

GOLF CLUB.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1 7, 1918- 1,43 334%, Patented w. 31, 11922.

Patented @ct, 3i, W22,

narrate snares an an learner oration,

HUGH MOUDY BEHIND, 01F WHEATUN, ELLENQIQ.

GOLF

application filed June it,

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known. that l, HUGH Moon'r Reno), a subject of the King" of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at 'Wheaton, in the county of Du Page and Stateof llllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Golf Club, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an im roved golf club and relates more particular y to the disposition and arrangement of the metal weight customarily added to wooden clubs. Heretofore the requisite addition of weight to wooden clubs has been edected by the addition of metal inserts to the wooden clubs, a common form of construction being that in which the metal is inserted at the rear side of the head of the club' about opposite to the striking; surface of the face of the club. Among the objects of my invention are the placing of the metal weight at the extreme end of the club most remote from the handle, that is, upon the lower surfaceof the head of the club, and the proportioning of the weight in such manner that the center of gravity of the head of the club will lieappronimately in a plane passing through the axis of'the shaft of the club substantially perpendicular to the sole of the club, thus obtaining a perfect balance of the club whereby it tends to assume,,under the influence of gravity, the proper position for impact upon the hall. lln securing these objects my invention takes the form of a flat weight secured to the lower surface of the head of the club and extend across lower surface thereof from the striking face to the rear part of the head, the metalweight being so proportioned as to width and thickness as to bring" the center of gravity of the head in approrci mately the position above referred to. ln the preferred orm of construction the forward edge of the weight is flush with the striking face of the club and forms the lower part thereof, the weight itself thus con stituting a protection. andreinfdrcernent for the lower part of the striking face and there hy dispensing with the necessity of using; the fiber inserts customarily employed, for the protection of the lower part of the strilo inn surface of wooden clubs. My improved weight also serves the purpose of a metal sole for the club, constituting as it does, metallic protection extending; rover the greater part of the lower surface thereof.

' My improved weight, however, is in no sense GLUE.

191$. Serial life. tlmtllht.

simply a metal protecting its primary purpose being: that of a weight and its function as a protecting sole being; incidental to its location at the extreme end of the club most remote from the handle, where it contributesthe maximum of momentum to the club when it is swung to strike the ball. As is well known, the usual metallic protecting sole for wooden. clubs consists merely of a thin sheet of metal, generally brass, flanged upwardly at its edges around the lower part of the club head. Such metallic protecting soles do not contribute materially to the weight of the clubs upon which they are mounted and are not intended for that purpose, but, on the contrary, are used in connection with metal weights inserted at some other point in the head of the club. The metal weight forming part of my'invention, as above described, constitiites the weight which it is necessary to add'to the wooden head of the club, such weight being disposed where it contributes the, maximum of momentum during the swingv of the club and being so proportioned as to secure perfect balance thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the head of my improved club looking toward the striking face.

Figure 2 is a view of the underside of the head of the club, and a Figure 3 is a section through the head of the club in a plane transverse of the handle.

My invention may be applied to any wooden. club such as a brassie or driver. The precise form of the metal weight may vary within considerable limits without departing from the conditions above set forth, principal requisites being, as above stated, that the weight be located the extreme lower part of the club and it he so proportioned as to secure the halance abate referred to, As illustrated, the metal insert 1 is shown as a flat plate of metal, preferably brass, set into the lower surfaw of the head of the club. The metal plate preferably extends from the front to the rear of the head of the club, the forward edeg 2 thereof being: flush with the front face the club and forming the lower part thereof. At its rear edge, as indicatedat 3, the metal plate may be tapered to conform to the curvature of the rear side of the club and it may be similarly tapered at the points designated t and a in such manner that the sole for the club,

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other material.

-By reason of the fact that the normal and proper point of contact between the striking face of the club and the ball is at some distance above the forward edge 2 of the metal weight there will be a tendency for the weight to shift forwardly upon impact of the club with the. ball. This tendency of the weight to shift is due, of course, to the fact that the momentum of the part of the club above the weight is partially arrested by contact with the ball while the momentum of the weight is 'undiminished. Tn

using clubs such as herein described l have found that the'undiminished momentum of v the weight imposes a severe strain upon the screws and l have therefore constructed the weight with vertical, or substantiallyvertical shoulders projecting into the upper? part of the head of the club for the purpose of absorbing the shock referred to. ny employing such shoulders the screws are almost wholly relieved of horizontal strains, such strains being absorbed by the shoulders. These shoulders for absorbing the horizontal momentum strains may, ofcourse, take a wide variety'of forms and may be placed in a variety of positions upon the upper surface of the metal weight, it being necessary merely that the shoulders ext nd transversely of the plane of contact between the upper surfaceof the metal weight and the lower surface of the wooden p'art'of the club, i. e., transverse of the are through whlch the head of a club moves when the ball is struck. In. the drawin s, I have shown two such shoulders 6 an 7. These shoulders 6 and 7 form the forward surfaces of lugs projecting upward, from and integral with the metal weight. The part of these lugs rearwardly from the forward vertical shoulders may slope rearwarlly, indicated at 9 and 10. When so constructedthe parts of the head of the club may conveniently be assembled by recessing the undersurface of the club to receive the weight and then placing the weight against the underside of the club in correct position, whereupon the a plication of slight pressureor a hammer b ow will indent the edges of the lugs into the lower surface of the wooden part of the club sufficiently to mark'the position of the cavities to be cut therein to receive the lugs. These cavities or recesses meager may then be chiseled out, it being necessary to out these cavities accurately only on than vertical forward sides *where they coact with the shoulders 6 and 7. After the cavities are made the weight can be replaced, driven forward so as to secure firm contact between the shoulders band 7 and the forward walls of the cavities whereupon insertion of the screws will complete the proper assembly of the device, the forward edge 2 of the plate being dressed down, if necessary, "after assembly, to make it flush with the remain-- a der of the striking face of the club.

Anotheradvantage inherent in the use of a club weighted as described and claimed herein lies in the fact that the head of the club instead of being weakened by the weight is made stronger and more resistant to-shocksand wear. This is true not only as regards the striking face of the club, but

also of .the rear part of the club. Golf clubs are commonly worn down in use at the point designated in the drawing by the reference numeral 3, and it frequently happens with clubs having weights inserted in "the rear of the head that'the woodbeneath the inserted weight is shattered, thisbeing especially likely to happen when the weight is placed low, as desired by some players, the low portion of the weight leaving only a thin and fragile shell of wood between the weight and lower surface of the club. My

invention avoids this difficulty altogether, and serves to add strength and resistance to wear-to the clubat the "point 3;

The metal weight 1 is secured in position by means of screws5 which, inthemselves, contribute to the weight of the club atthe desired point. I have shown the weight as tapering in horizontal section from the front to the rear-edge, this shape conforming to the usual contour of the head of the club, and, furthermore, resulting in properly distributing the weight to secure the desired balance'of a club having a head of the form illustrated. lUpon reference to Figure 2 it will be observed that the part of the weight above the central plane 6-6, while shorter 'in a direction perpendicular to the central plane, is wider, thereby resulting in approx imately the same mass of metal being disposed upon opposite sides of the central plane. By this arrangement of the weight the club normally tends to assume the proper position for striking, a fact which can be easily observed by lightly holding a club constructed-in accordance with my invention. heads projecting more'or less forwardly or reawardly from the planefof the shaft the form of the weight would be varied accordingly to keep the center of gravity of the head in a plane passing through the axis of the shaft and approximately .perpendicular to the sole, thereby obtaining the It will be obvious that with club till balance above referred to. it will be apparent that, owing to the variety of shapes of the heads of clubs, it will not in all instances lie-necessary, or perhaps desirable,

that the center of gravity be in a plane precisely perpendicular to the sole, it being suilicient that the center of gravity be near enough to such a plane to obtain the desired balance.

While it have described the application of my invention to a wooden club, it can be applied with equal advantageto clubs made of other relatively light material such as indurated fibre, aluminum or other material of such light weight as to render the use of added Wei ht desirable.

A weigit constructed and applied to a golf club according to my invention offers a further advantage in the facility with which the weight and balance of the head of the club may be altered, it being necessary only to unscrew the weight, remove it from the club and to remove metal by drilling or otherwise from the upper surface of the weight at the desired points. weight may be applied to the club at any point by drilling holes in the head above the upper surface of the weight and filling the same with metal. When the weight is again secured in position the alterations are concealed from view, thus rendering it possible to make the desired adjustment without injuring or alteringthe appearance of the club in any manner.

The application of weight to the head ofa golf club according to my invention is conducive to imparting movement in the con rect direction to the ball. V hen the weight ac: .l to the head of a golf club is coneenl within a small compass with the prin cipal mass thereof above thesole, as when lead weights are inserted in the rear side of the head of the club, it is necessary that in making a stroke the striking face of the club contact with the ball opposite the weight. if the point of contact between the striking face of the club and the ball be at either side of the ideal striking; point, that is, toward the heel or toe of the club and not opposite the weight, the hall will be driven to one side or the other of its intended. course. This difficulty is to a great extent mitigated by placing; the weight at sole and distributing; the added weight between heel and toe of the club, as is the case with clubs constructed according}; to my invention, lln using; my improved club a moderate devia tion of the point of contact of the club with the ball from the center oi the striking face does not throw the point contact out of line with the weight to as great an extent as when the weight is concentrated within a small compass, and the weiwht, by reason of being at the extreme end of the club, acts with a mechanical advantage over the resist- Added ance to the tendency of S ance offered by the ball which contacts with thp club at an appreciable distance above the so e.

While 1 have herein described a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that the principles of construction as to disposition of the weight to secure maximum of momentum and a proper balance of the club maybe secured Without adhering to the precise foiin of construction herein illustrated and described.

What ll claim is:

l. A golf club having a head consisting of an upper section of wood and a lower section of metal, said metal section containinr sufficient metal to impart the desired weight to said head and being secured to the the club, said sole extending only over the central portion of the lower surface ofthe wooden section, terminating at a considerable distance from the toe of the head on one side and at a considerable distance from the heel of the head on the other side, said metal and wooden sections having coacting shoulders extending transversely to their contacting surfaces, said shoulders being positioned to exert a maximum resistance to the tendency of the metal section to fly off when the club strikes the ball with its striking face.

2. A golf club having a head consisting of an upper section of wood and a lower section of metal, said metal section containing sufficient metal to impart the desired weight to said head and being secured to the lower surface of the wooden section with its forward edge flush with and forming the lower reinforced part of the striking face, and its lower surface forming the sole of the club, said sole extending onl central portion of the lower surface of the wooden section, terminating; at a considerable distance from the toe of the head on one side and at a considerable distance-from the heel of the head on the other side, the center of gravity of said metal section be ng so disposed as to bring the center of gravity of said head in a plane passing through the axis of the shaft of the club and substan tially perpendicular to the sole of the club, said metal and wooden sections havin co acting shoulders extending; their contacting surfaces, shoulders oeing positioned to exert a maximum resist:- the metal section to fly off when the club Sillltll'lg its face,

3. A golf club having a head consisting of an upper section of relatively light material and a lower section of metal, said metal section containing sufilcient metal to impart the trilres the ball with I ill;

over the tion with its forward edge flush with and forming the lower reinforced part of the striking lace, and its lower surface forming the sole of the club, said sole extending only over the central portion or the lower. surface of the wooden section, terminating at a consideralole distance from the toe of the *head onone side and at a considerable distance from the heel of the head on the other side, saidinetal and lighter sections having coacting shoulders extending transversely to their contacting'surfaces, said shoulders being positioned to exert a'inaxirnuin resistance to the tendency of the metal section to tly off when the club strikes the hall with its striking taco.

l. A golf club having a head consisting of an upper section ot relatively light material and a lower section of metal, saidinetal section containin sufficientmetal to impart the desired weig t to said head and being secured to the lower surface of the lighter iasarae section with its forward edge flush with and forming the lower reinforced part of the the club, said metal and wooden sections having coacting shoulders exte'ndingtransversely to their contacting surfaces, said shoulders being positwned to exert a maxinium resistance to the tendency of the metal section to fly off when the club strikes the ball with its striking face.

lln testimony whereof, l have subscribed my, name.

. HUGH MUDDY RHIND. 

